DEQ puts Oregon on track to cut through regulations to reuse graywater

View full sizeFaith Cathcart, The OregonianAn over-the-toilet sink sends water used to wash hands into the toilet for another use for flushing.

Oregon has a new proposal to allow reuse of household and business wastewater for irrigation -- and, yes, it excludes wastewater from toilets.

The draft "graywater" regulations require homeowners, schools, businesses, apartment complexes and others to apply for permits costing at least $50 a year before installing irrigation systems using water from showers, baths, sinks or washers.

That's tougher than California, which decided in 2009 not to require permits for the simplest graywater systems.

But the costs and paperwork in Oregon should be lower than the patchwork of local regulation and permits in place now, regulators say.

Typical households generate just over 100 gallons a day from graywater sources, which together make up about 60 percent of household use. Any low-volume generators of less than 300 gallons a day would not have to treat graywater.

But irrigation of gardens, lawns or crops with untreated graywater would have to be "subsurface," at least 2 inches below ground. Untreated wastewater can carry bacteria and other pathogens.

Ron Doughten, DEQ's water reuse coordinator, said the simplest systems are gravity fed, with wastewater running through a screen to catch solids then through hoses or drip-irrigation lines covered with a couple inches of mulch.

Every system would also need a valve to send water to either sewer pipes or the irrigation system -- irrigation would only be approved for dry periods when plants need water.

Systems that included kitchen sinks would need grease traps or other devices that remove more solids, Doughten said.

The department will develop a permit form for applicants to spell out what they plan to do. Applicants would typically also need to get local plumbing permits.

"The idea is really to make this as simple as possible," Doughten said. "We'll lay out some basic practices with the idea that if you do this and it's a low volume, it's pretty safe."

Oregon is late to authorizing graywater use. California, Washington, Montana, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and Wyoming already allow it to varying degrees.

California eventually decided not to require permits and fees for simple laundry and single-fixture systems.

Oregon's 2009 Legislature didn't provide any money for the graywater program and specifically required DEQ permits. Permit fees are designed to cover the program's costs.

Oregon's rules would also authorize more complex systems, which most other states haven't done, Doughten said.

Anyone with a previously installed system would have to meet the new rules and apply for a permit. Using graywater only to flush toilets wouldn't require a permit from DEQ, though it would likely require a local plumbing permit.

A basic do-it-yourself system with components purchased from a hardware store could cost less than $1,000 and in some cases less than $100, DEQ says.

Large, complex systems with graywater treatment and above-ground irrigation could cost more than $10,000.

DEQ will hold four public hearings in February and March on the proposal. A public comment period runs through March 11.

The Environmental Quality Commission is scheduled to approve final rules in August, which would take effect Sept. 1.